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International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) Riders

For the 2018 ISDE in Chile this coming November, District 14 is proud to recognize 2 of our riders who have qualified and will be representing the USA! Please help to support each of these rider's by purchasing a T-Shirt from them at the link below. All of the money from the T-shirt sales goes to funding the massive financial burden these racers have to get themselves, their support crew, and all of their equipment down to Chile this November for the ISDE race. Read further to learn more about these two outstanding young men!

Talon Soenksen, from Fife Lake, MI, who recently turned 18 has qualified as one of the 15 amateur off-road racers to represent the US Team in the 92nd running of the International Six Day Enduro (ISDE) in Vina del Mar, Chile this coming November 2018. This is the highest level of accomplishment in off track motorcycle racing and has been a dream of Talon’s since first starting to ride dirt bikes at age 4. It is the equivalent of the Olympics for off road motorcycle racers.

Michigan has produced some incredible off-road racers and this is the second time Talon has represented the USA from the state of MI. Talon was part of the ISDE team in 2016 in Spain. Talon has been preparing for this race by racing Sprint Enduros and local Michigan D14 off-road events.

The ISDE differs from other track-based events such as motocross due to the length and requirements put on racers. The bikes are run through technical inspection and impounded where many parts are marked as being non-changeable, such as engines, hubs, exhaust, etc. The course is run over approximately 100-150 miles of fast, tough trail each day. Interspersed are usually 6 special test sections. These test sections of around 5-6 miles see racers competing one at a time against the clock to get the fastest time. These will include grass track sections and extreme terrain tests. Around 5-7 hours of competition time each day. This happens for 5 days then the final day consist of a more typical motocross track based race that is head to head and times added onto your overall time.

For the ISDE not only must you be a fast and versatile racer but a good mechanic as well. To compound the intensity, only racers themselves are allowed to perform all maintenance including front and rear tire changes without assistance and under watch of referees during a morning and evening work period of just 10 minutes each day. No one is allowed to help as even handing racer a tool directly is grounds for disqualification. During this time he will need to change both front and rear tires, brakes, air filters and any other maintenance needed. Tires run special foam inserts that make it the equivalent of doing tire changes full of air. Talon has been practicing the technique and his times are down to 2 minutes off and back on the rim per tire with hand tools.

His parents will be accompanying him as each rider brings support people to assist with checkpoints along the trail. At these points the racers may be supplied clean googles and gloves, fuel and food and drink for the body. The estimated cost of the event to obtain bike, spare parts, shipping it overseas and travel is $30,000. A Social.Fund account has been set up and anyone wishing to contribute and/or follow Talon can find it via #SocialFund https://social.fund/ctabty/ or on Facebook at Talon Soenksen. T-shirts will be available for purchase to support Talon’s team.

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ATTENTION:2018 Offroad Awards Banquet is now available for registration. Mark your calendar for February 16, 2019. Registration deadline is 10 days before the event and no tickets are sold at the door. Please click here to register.ATTENTION: For race status updates i.e. weather updates, cancellations etc. -- please consult the track, club, or promoter who is putting on the race.Please head to our Racer Support page for the latest news on our D14 racers and how you can help them!